[Planner]

Help please O' informed one's...  (enough creeping)  

Out of my 5 girls, two of them are really tame, whenever I walk into the run, they are the first up to me, They let me pick them up and stroke them, when they are in the garden, they follow me around, really good company.

The next two are friendly as much as I can get them to feed out of my hand, but any attempt to touch them, and they are off running away around the run.

Finally the last one is so timid, whilst I am outside the run, she is OK but as soon as I open the gate she runs to the back of the run. When I take treats in she will rather starve than come up to me.

I really want them all to be liked to be handled as I need to check them over, I need to clip their wings and also usher them from the run to the main garden and back again. Only the first two are experiencing these treats.

They must be about 24 weeks old now and I have had them about 6 weeks.

The two friendly ones are a blackrock and a gold line, the next two are light sussex and a blue belle and the really shy one is a silver link.

Thanks for any advice please.

[chickenlady]

Hello there planner, are the timid ones laying yet? my little girls which we hand reared and handled every day are 17wks now (not laying yet)but if you try to catch them in the garden they do a runner and squawk if you pick them up! my 2 ambers which we got about a month ago started off very timid and ran from us etc, but just before they started to lay they suddenly changed, and let us stroke them and pick them up without any noise!! (they think we are the cockerel and are just being floosies!! ) im hoping my little ones will be the same. dont know if this helps at all?

[Planner]

Hi - The only one I believe not laying is the Silver link. I know for definate the Goldline, Blackrock and bluebelle are laying, I also believe th sussex is laying as I have found her sitting on eggs in the nest box

[stickywicket]

Hi Planner

I have been wondering the same thing about my mine : :roll:  .
I have an Australorp, Light Sussex, Silver Sussex and Plymouth Rock. They are bantams and I've had them for a couple of months now. They haven't started laying yet but the breeder said they should do this month.
They will come up and feed from my hand if they are hungry enough but any attempt to touch them and they run away .

When they go in to roost I have started picking them up off their perch as they seem a bit calmer then and its the only way I can catch them. They squawk and flap at bit at first but calm down. I stroke them and talk to them for a few minutes and put them back. I have been doing this for quite  a few weeks now (!) They still don't seem to like being handled though so I'm getting quite disappointed as I wanted my children to be able to pick them when they are in their run :cry:

I'm hoping that when they start to lay they will calm down a bit. But I do enjoy my little evening chats with them anyway :oops: . My OH can't understand why it takes me so long to put them to bed. I think he may be jealous :

[Lemon]

..........yes stickywicket, maybe you should stroke your husband's head, talk to him for a few minutes and tuck him in!!!!!!!!  Then he won't feel so jealous!!!